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WILMINGTON, MA — Beyond TOPS is holding a “Dining For A Cause” fundraiser at the Ninety Nine Restaurant (144 Lowell Street) on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, from 4pm to 11pm.15% of your bill will be donated to the non-profit if you present the flyer below to your server/host. The donation applies to both dine-on AND take-out orders. No coupons, discounts or promotions are accepted during the fundraiser.Beyond TOPS is a 501c3 non-profit organization with a sole purpose to integrate children with mental and physical disabilities into the community through sports. The organization strives to bring children of all abilities together, through physical activity, to make the community stronger.Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedWHS Local Heroes Club To Hold Fundraiser To Benefit Veterans At 99 Restaurant On Sept. 11In “Community”99 Restaurant To Host Fundraiser For Northside PAC On May 29In “Community”99 Restaurant To Host Fundraiser For Cops With Kids For Cancer On June 5In “Community”read more

TV and Movies Digital Media Share your voice Netflix’s price hikes are coming quick 1:41 Last month, the company said Bird Box, its post-apocalyptic thriller starring Sandra Bullock, was watched by 45 million accounts in the first seven days it was available, the best viewership for one of its original movies yet. And Tuesday, Netflix announced price hikes. The prospect of a higher monthly bill wasn’t welcome news for consumers, but investors reacted with glee, and analysts interpreted it as Netflix flexing its muscles in the middle of a hot streak. Netflix doubled down on viewership disclosures Thursday. Bird Box has now been watched by more than 80 million member households in four weeks, the company said, adding that the movie was getting “high repeat viewing.” Looking ahead, Netflix expects You — a thriller series about a bookish stalker, which struggled to find an audience when it aired on Lifetime — to surpass 40 million households in its first four weeks, and it predicts Sex Education, a British series that Netflix is distributing globally, to reach more than 40 million in the first four weeks too. You, a thriller about a stalker played by Penn Badgley, struggled to find its audience on Lifetime, the network where it premiered. Netflix The eternal caveat about Netflix numbers like these? They’re not independently verified. Nielsen offers some ratings for Netflix programs, which it figures with its own system of measurement that leaves out any viewing on mobile devices and doesn’t count people watching outside the US. Nielsen’s initial Bird Box numbers supported the general case that the movie was widely popular, though.And Netflix’s definition of a view carries different meaning for a movie versus a show. Netflix counts a movie as viewed once an account watches 70 percent of the total runtime, including credits. But for shows, Netflix credits the title with a view if an account gets through 70 percent of the total runtime of a single episode. But Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s head of content, defended the worth of the stats Thursday. “These are less financial metrics as they are cultural metrics,” he said. “For part of your Netflix subscription, you’re in the zeitgeist. You’re watching the programming that the rest of the world is loving at the same time.”The company also relished a competitive jab at YouTube, Google’s massive video site that Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings routinely admits envying for the 1.9 billion people who use it every month. “When YouTube went down globally for a few minutes in October, our viewing and signups spiked for that time,” the company said Thursday.Netflix shares fell Thursday, after they spiked two days earlier on news of the price increase. Shares were down 2.6 percent at $344 in after-hours trading. In its latest results, Netflix’s international subscriber base increased by 7.3 million paid members to 80.77 million, beating the 6.1 million additions the company predicted. In the US, Netflix added 1.53 million paid streaming customers, for a total of 58.49 million, slightly topping its 1.5 million guidance.Netflix is switching focus on how it reports its subscribers this year. While investors previously kept watch on Netflix’s number of total streaming members, which includes trial memberships, this year the company will make predictions only about paid memberships. By directing focus away from figures that include free trials, Netflix hopes its subscriber numbers won’t seem as lumpy as they have in the past. Looking ahead, Netflix expects to add 1.6 million paid streaming members in the US and 7.3 million internationally in the current quarter. Netflix also predicted 56 cents per share in earnings. On average, Wall Street analysts who track Netflix expected 83 cents.Overall, Netflix reported a profit of $133.9 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $185.5 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 27 percent to $4.19 billion.Analysts on average expected per-share profit of 24 cents — a penny higher than Netflix’s forecast — and $4.21 billion in revenue.First published Jan. 17, 1:11 p.m. PT. Updates at 1:20, 1:25, 1:45 and 4:41 p.m. PT: Adds more details from report and executive call. Now playing: Watch this: Netflix’s Bird Box was watched by 45 million accounts in its first week on the streaming service. Saeed Adyani/Netflix If you want to blame anyone for Netflix raising prices, look to all the newbs who are signing up in droves. The streaming video service reported that more people signed up in the last three months of 2018 than any other quarter ever, and it predicted even more new members in the first quarter of 2019. The company added 8.84 million new paid members, according to its end-of-year financial report Thursday. That’s better than the 7.6 million it’d predicted in October.Netflix tends to end every year on an upswing, as people on holiday breaks spend extra time streaming and those who received new gadgets as gifts start setting them up by adding services like Netflix. But this time, Netflix had already issued a couple of particularly positive signals about how business was faring. 26 Comments Tags Earnings Netflix Culture: Your hub for everything from film and television to music, comics, toys and sports.Everything we know about Apple’s TV service: Where is Apple putting that $1 billion investment in TV programming?read more

Nvidia Nvidia’s new Jetson Nano platform aims to make AI development more accessible to everyone. Announced Monday by Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang at the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference, the Jetson Nano comes in a $99 devkit for developers, makers and enthusiasts and a $129 production-module for mass-market edge systems.Living up to its name, the board measures 80 by 100 millimeters (3.2 by 3.9 inches), but has a quad-core ARM processor, a 128-core integrated Nvidia graphics and 4GB of memory. The preinstalled Jetpack SDK comes complete with a desktop Linux environment based on Ubuntu 18.04 with support for Nvidia Cuda Toolkit 10. See It $99 Post a comment HDMI, DisplayPort 128-core Nvidia Maxwell Memory Share your voice Computers 4Kp30, 1080p30, 1080p60 Best Buy Children who are blind learn how to code with Code Jumper Preview • Cooking your food in a water bath just got cheaper Camera Four USB 3.0 Type-A (host), USB 2.0 Micro Type-B (device) Jetson Nano specs Now playing: Watch this: MIPI CSI-2 x2 (15-position flex connector) Available now through Seeed Studio and SparkFun, the kit is compatible with many popular peripherals and accessories. It also includes projects along with tutorials to help DIYers and students get started with AI right out of the box. A Jetson developer forum is also available for users to get answers to technical questions. Mentioned Above Anova Nano USB Video Decoder Microsoft tech teaches children who are blind how to… Nvidia Graphics Tags CNET may get a commission from retail offers. $73 64-bit quad-core 1.43GHz ARM A57 4Kp60, 4Kp30, 1080p30, 1080p60 See it 0 Anova Nano 4:33 4GB 64-bit LPDDR4, 1600MHz Display 16 Photos Processor Video Encoderread more

Summer movie preview: Aladdin, Spider-Man, Tarantino and more It is time. Advanced tickets available now. #TheLionKing— The Lion King (@disneylionking) June 24, 2019 On Sunday, Disney released a video of the two singing short snippets of the classic love song, Can You Feel The Love Tonight? The video has gotten more than 500,000 views in just over one day. Disney The new Simba is just so darn cute. Walt Disney Studios Just can’t wait to be king? You don’t have to wait anymore. Tickets for the new, scarily realistic, computer-animated Lion King are on sale. Although the remake of the classic 1994 animated hit doesn’t open for nearly a month, major online ticket-selling sites, including Fandango, AMC, Cinemark and Regal, all have tickets available now.Buy tickets on AtomBuy tickets on FandangoNote that CNET may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.The film features a star-studded voice cast, including Donald Glover as Simba, the lion cub who must find his way, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as his mate, Nala. 21 Photos Share your voice The Lion King opens July 18 in Australia and July 19 in the US and UK. TV and Movies Post a comment 0 Tagsread more

What’s cooler: A snapshot of a firework exploding in front of you, or full 360-degree video of all the fireworks and all the reactions to seeing them? Oooh, ahhh, indeed. At $250, the compact Rylo dual-lens camera is selling for its lowest price yet. And for an extra $50, you can get the bundle that includes the waterproof housing.This deal runs through Sept. 3; it usually costs $500. Now playing: Watch this: DJI’s answer to GoPro’s action cameras is rugged little model that’s shockproof, dustproof and waterproof down to 11 meters. It normally runs $350, but this deal drops it to $261 when you apply promo code 19LABOR10 at checkout. TVs Speakers Mobile Accessories Cameras Laptops Automobiles Smart Speakers & Displays See It Rylo 5.8K 360 Video Camera: $250 (save $250) $999 Read Google Home Hub review null JBL Soundgear wearable speaker: $90 (save $160) Turo is kind of like Uber meets Airbnb: You borrow someone’s car, but you do all the driving. I’ve used it many times and found it a great alternative to traditional car-rental services — in part because you get to choose exactly the vehicle you want (not just, say, “midsize”) and in part because you can often do pickup and dropoff right outside baggage claim.Between now and Sept. 1, the first 300 people to check out can get $30 off any Turo rental with promo code LDW30. $6 at Tidal I thought this might be a mistake, but, no, the weirdly named HP Laptop 15t Value is indeed quite the value at this price. Specs include an Intel Core i7 processor, 12GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive and a 15.6-inch display. However, I strongly recommend paying an extra $50 to upgrade that display to FHD (1,920×1,080), because you’re not likely to be happy with the native 1,366×768 resolution. $90 at Daily Steals via Google Express HP Laptop 15t Value: $520 (save $780) Spotify and most other streaming services rely on compressed audio, which robs the listener of full fidelity. Enter Tidal, the only “major” service that delivers lossless audio — meaning at least on par with CD quality, if not better. Want to see (er, hear) the difference for yourself? Grab this excellent extended trial while you can. It’s just $6 for three months, and it’s good for up to six listeners. The Cheapskate Last week, Netflix revealed that its international subscriber base grew by 2.83 million paid members to 91.46 million in the last quarter, which was less 4.7 million new signups it hoped for. It’s hoping to add 6.2 million people internationally in the current quarter.There are currently no plans to bring this tier to other regions, a Netflix spokesperson said in an email.First published at 3:44 a.m. PT.Updated at 6:30 a.m. PT: Adds Netflix comment about new tier’s international availability. Sarah Tew/CNET Recently updated to include digital-photo-frame capabilities, the Lenovo Smart Clock brings Google Assistant goodness to your nightstand. It’s a little smaller than the Amazon Echo Show 5, but also a full $30 less (and tied with Prime Day pricing) during this Best Buy Labor Day sale. $60 at Best Buy Read Lenovo Smart Clock review The problem with most entry-level laptops: They come with mechanical hard drives. That makes for a mighty slow Windows experience. This Lenovo model features a 128GB solid-state drive, so it should be pretty quick to boot and load software, even with its basic processor. Plus, it has a DVD-burner! That’s not something you see in many modern laptops, especially at this price. Share your voice Netflix probably won’t be jacking up prices again anytime… Apple iPhone XS $155 at Google Express 0 Free Echo Dot with an Insignia or Toshiba TV (save $50) Use promo code 19LABOR10 to get an unusually good deal on JBL’s interesting hybrid product — not quite headphones, and not quite a traditional speaker, but something you wear like neckphones to listen to music on the go. See It Sarah Tew/CNET Angela Lang/CNET Formerly known as the Google Home Hub, Google’s Nest Hub packs a wealth of Google Assistant goodness into a 7-inch screen. At $59, this is within a buck of the best price we’ve seen. It lists for $129 and sells elsewhere in the $89-to-$99 range.This is one item of many available as part of eBay’s Labor Day Sale (which, at this writing, doesn’t specifically mention Labor Day, but that’s how it was pitched to us). Best laptops for college students: We’ve got an affordable laptop for every student. Best live TV streaming services: Ditch your cable company but keep the live channels and DVR. Read the AirPods review See it Sarah Tew/CNET $210 at Best Buy Best Buy Apple AirPods with Wireless Charging Case: $155 (save $45) Tags Mentioned Above Apple iPhone XS (64GB, space gray) $261 at Daily Steals via Google Express Preview • iPhone XS is the new $1,000 iPhone X Google Nest Hub: $59 (save $70) $59 at eBay Sarah Tew/CNET People in India can experience El’s Stranger Things adventures for less than $3 a month. Netflix Netflix made a big push to get people watching in India on Wednesday. The company launched a cheap mobile-only subscription tier tailored to that market — a plan it revealed last week. The 199 rupee (about $3) option only allows one phone or tablet to view a standard definition (480-pixel) stream at a time.”Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members anywhere else in the world- and they love to download our shows and films,” said Ajay Arora, Netflix’s director of product innovation.Indians spend 30 percent of their phone time and more than 70% of their data on entertainment. Along with the new tier, the streaming service has invested in Indian-made content like Sacred Games, Chopsticks and Mighty Little Bheem (with more on the way). Turo See at Amazon CNET may get a commission from retail offers. Mobile Internet TV and Movies Review • iPhone XS review, updated: A few luxury upgrades over the XR Share your voice $299 at Amazon See at Turo Other Labor Day sales you should check out Best Buy: In addition to some pretty solid MacBook deals that have been running for about a week already, Best Buy is offering up to 40% off major appliances like washers, dryers and stoves. There are also gift cards available with the purchase of select appliances. See it at Best BuyDell: Through Aug. 28, Dell is offering an extra 12% off various laptops, desktops and electronics. And check back starting Aug. 29 for a big batch of Labor Day doorbusters. See it at DellGlassesUSA: Aug. 29 – Sept. 3 only, you can save 65% on all frames with promo code labor65. See it at GlassesUSALenovo: The tech company is offering a large assortment of deals and doorbusters through Labor Day, with the promise of up to 56% off certain items — including, at this writing, the IdeaPad 730S laptop for $700 (save $300).See it at LenovoLensabl: Want to keep the frames you already love and paid for? Lensabl lets you mail them in for new lenses, based on your prescription. From now through Sept. 2 only, you can save 20% on the blue light-blocking lens option with promo code BLOCKBLUE. See it at LensablSears: Between now and Sept. 7, you can save up to 40% on appliances (plus an additional 10% if you shop online), up to 60% on mattresses, up to 50% on Craftsman products and more. The store is also offering some fairly hefty cashback bonuses. See it at SearsNote: This post was published previously and is continuously updated with new information.CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page, and find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. Netflix,I’m shocked — shocked! — to learn that stores are turning Labor Day into an excuse to sell stuff. Wait — no, I’m not. As much as I respect the original intent of the holiday (which became official back in 1894), to most of us, it’s just a bonus day off — one that’s blissfully tacked onto a weekend. So, yeah, stores; go ahead, run your sales. I’m listening. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Labor Day doesn’t bring out bargains to compete with the likes of Black Friday (which will be here before you know it), but there are definitely some sales worth your time.For example:We’ve rounded up the best Labor Day mattress deals.We’ve also gathered the best Labor Day laptop deals at Best Buy.The 2019 Vizio P Series Quantum is back under $999.Be sure to check out Amazon’s roughly three dozen Labor Day deals on TVs and audio. Google Express is having a big sale as well, one that includes deals on game consoles, AirPods, iPhones, laptops and more.Below I’ve rounded up a handful of individual items I consider to be the cream of the crop, followed by a handy reference guide to other Labor Day sales. Keep in mind, of course, that products may sell out at any time, even if the sale itself is still running. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. An Echo Dot makes a fine match for any Fire edition TV, because you can use the latter to say things like, “Alexa, turn on the TV.” Right now, the 24-inch Insignia Fire TV Edition starts at just $100, while the 32-inch Toshiba Fire TV Editions is on sale for $130. Just add any Fire TV Edition to your cart, then add a third-gen Echo Dot, and presto: The latter is free. See It DJI Osmo Action camera: $261 (save $89) $520 at HP Rylo $999 Chris Monroe/CNET Lenovo Smart Clock: $59.99 (save $20) Though not technically a Labor Day sale, it’s happening during Labor Day sale season — and it’s too good not to share. Nationwide Distributors, via Google Express, has just about the best AirPods deal we’ve seen (when you apply promo code ZBEDWZ at checkout). This is for the second-gen AirPods with the wireless charging case. Can’t imagine these will last long at this price, so if you’re interested, act fast. Boost Mobile $999 $999 Read the Rylo camera preview Tidal 3-month family subscription: $5.99 (save $54) Lenovo 130-15AST 15.6-inch laptop: $210 (save $90) 5:05 Turo: Save $30 on any car rental Sprint Amazon Tags 7 Read DJI Osmo Action preview Commentsread more

A man casts silhouette onto an electronic screen displaying logo of Vodafone India after a news conference to announce the half year results in Mumbai, India, November 10, 2015.Reuters fileThe merger of British telecom company Vodafone’s India operations with Aditya Birla Group firm Idea Cellular has implications at multiple levels. While the merger will create the biggest telecom service provider by replacing Bharti Airtel and likely appreciation in valuation benefiting promoters and other investors, it is likely to spell bad days ahead for employees.Job cutsAnalysts had pointed even last month when the merger rumours were buzzing that the consolidation phase could trigger a wave of job cuts.”Lower management will face the maximum heat as there will be a lot of overlap in the last-mile service delivery, customer interaction and point of sales,” Sumit Sabharwal, CEO (Managed Services) and managing director (SAARC), Excelity Global, an HR outsourcing service provider, had told the BusinessLine on February 24, 2017. In all, about 1.5 lakh people are working in such roles, the daily had reported. The consolidation could also slow down the pace of hiring in the sector, given that companies would look to leverage synergies.In terms of direct employment, Idea Cellular had 12,491permanent employees and 10,306 on a contractual basis, while Bharti Airtel had 9,596 permanent employees, according to their respective annual reports for FY2016.Details of people working at Vodafone India are not available since it is not listed on Indian stock exchanges. Idea Cellular’s Managing Director Himanshu Kapania speaks during a news conference to announce the company’s quarterly results in Mumbai October 24, 2013.Reuters fileHigher savings for the merged entityFor the two companies — Idea Cellular and Vodafone India — the potential for reducing costs is significant, according to India Ratings. “The combined entity’s operating margins will improve by around 3 percentage points due to cost synergies in networking and selling, general and administrative expenses,” the ratings agency said in a note.Competition to intensify, smaller players to loseLast month, Bharti Airtel had announced the acquisition of Telenor’s India operations in seven telecom circles for an undisclosed amount. Seen as an outcome of the aggressive foray of Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), the deal did not change the outlook for the sector.”We retain our negative outlook on the sector for 2017, as fierce competition and rising capex will put pressure on most operators in the short term. The agreement by Bharti Airtel to buy Telenor’s Indian telecom operations is the latest sign that the entry of aggressive new operator Reliance Jio is spurring incumbents to consolidate to better meet the intense competition and weaker telcos to exit altogether,” Fitch Ratings had said in a note last month. Employees work inside a Bharti Airtel store in New Delhi, India April 20, 2016.Reuters fileread more

Photo taken on July 6, 2016 shows the displayed Jaguar XE car at the 7th International Auto Exhibition 2016 in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.IANSTata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is all set to announce job cuts in the thousands amid a crippling China demand slowdown.Britain’s biggest carmaker is facing headwinds in European sales as well, with diesel taking a hit in the region. Reuters reported that the move comes in the wake of fears that the premium carmaker will see a double-digit drop in demand in China. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union also escalated cost concerns for the iconic carmaker.JLR, which has 44,000 workers in the UK, had cut nearly 1,000 jobs in country in 20018.The company has readied a plan to return to financial health, the report says. The turnaround plan hinges around 2.5 billion pound cash savings, which will be materialised by cutting costs and improving cash flows.Under the plan, employment costs and employment levels will be reduced, and the job losses will be in thousands, the agency reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Men walk inside a Tata Motors showroom on the outskirts of Agartala, capital of India’s northeastern state of Tripura on 7 November 2012Reuters”The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design,” a source told the agency.The company had reported a $450 million loss in the first half the year. However, amid China demand concerns, the company had witnessed a silver lining in the US sales, with numbers improving nearly 24 percent in December. Shares in Tata Motors had swung up in the aftermath, reporting a 3 percent jump on the Indian stock markets.Tata Motors stock has lost more than 60 percent of value in the last one year after outlook for the JLR brand in China, one of its key markets, roiled.Waning fortunesIndia’s Tata conglomerate bought JLR from Ford in 2008, saving the British carmaker from bankruptcy. The Indian company turned around the sagging fortunes of the company and JLR had a great run for many years since then. IBTimes VideoRelated VideosMore videos Play VideoPauseMute0:00/2:51Loaded: 0%0:00Progress: 0%Stream TypeLIVE-2:51?Playback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedSubtitlessubtitles settings, opens subtitles settings dialogsubtitles off, selectedAudio Trackdefault, selectedFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window. COPY LINKAD Loading … Close Land Rover Discovery (2017) review The waning fortunes were capped by a massive first half loss and a 44 percent sales plunge in the second quarter. These triggered speculation about the future of the company and the role of the Tatas. However, the Tatas backed JLR brand in unequivocal terms.”There is no truth to the rumors that Tata Motors is looking to divest our stake in JLR or discontinue the Jaguar brand. We have great belief in the potential of JLR’s distinctive premium products and brands as well as in JLR’s design and engineering capabilities,” Tata Motors Chairman, N. Chandrasekaran said in late December.read more

Listen 00:00 /01:23 X Laura IsenseeEarlier this fall, Furr High School won a $10 million grant, making it one of 10 schools in the XQ Institute’s Super School Project to transform reinvent high school. Step inside the principal’s office at Furr High School and you might find an unusual request.“Here, will you jump rope out there?” principal Bertie Simmons asked a visitor. She insisted: “Here, jump rope out there.”She handed over what looked like a normal jump rope. After a few whirls, she revealed what happened next.The jump rope created kinetic energy and charged up a battery – enough to power up a lamp.Simmons wants to take that kind of innovation and change the entire high school experience.It’s been a big part of her mission at Furr High School in Northeast Houston for several years.And now the campus has won $10 million from the XQ Institute, led by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The school was one of 10 in the country that won the 5-year award, out of some 700 applications. The project aims to reinvent high school.“Even before we applied for this grant, we had been trying to transform high schools, because I’ve always thought that they were stuck in time,” Simmons said in an interview. Now they’re going to step it up. “We’re going to be actually trying to tap into the passions of the students,” she said.Students will do even more hands-on projects that try to solve community issues, like pollution in the nearby San Jacinto River.Simmons also wants to improve her students’ well-being: “We’re also going to be adding a clinic because 95 percent of our kids are on free and reduced lunch.”The new clinic will give them more access to health services. And for the influx of teenagers from Central America and Cuba, they will create a newcomer center with grant money.“That’s just an example of one of the ways we’ll be spending that two million dollars,” Simmons said.That’s the first year of the five-year grant. Students like Jordan Davis know what Simmons ultimately wants. “What are we going to do? What are we going to change?” she asked him.“The world!” he answered.Davis later explained that he wasn’t joking.“When I first got here, I didn’t really have good grades, I didn’t have a good support system. And ever since I walked into Dr. Simmons office, from that day that I got here, it’s my family. Furr High School is my family,” Davis said. “All I say is that’s all we want to do here is change the world. And I think we are. I think we are.” To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code: Shareread more

Listen X 00:00 /04:02 To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code: – / 3Over 50 rarely-loaned works by Vincent van Gogh are currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), as part of a unique exhibition that traces the Dutch artist’s evolution.Called Vincent van Gogh: His Life In Art, the exhibition looks at Van Gogh’s works chronologically, from his early sketches to his final masterpieces. The exhibit will only be shown in Houston — when it ends on June 27, the works will be packed up and sent back to their permanent homes.“It is a rather rare thing these days, which is a survey of Van Gogh’s entire 10-year career from the beginnings when he decided to be an artist at the age of 27 until his death at the age of 37, just less than a decade later,” said curator David Bomford. “To understand the triumphs and torments of his life, but to do it in conjunction with the works he was producing at those times, is a wonderfully vivid way of recapturing a life and a career dedicated to art.”During that ten-year period, Van Gogh produced around 850 paintings and over 1,000 drawings. Bomford said while most Van Gogh exhibits focus on a specific theme related to the artist, the MFAH wanted to show how much his work developed in such a short period of time.The exhibition starts in 1880 with Van Gogh’s early work from the Netherlands. “He’s producing really dark, difficult paintings, really quite ugly paintings, certainly very stylized and awkward paintings,” said Bomford.From there, the exhibit shows pieces from Van Gogh’s time as a draftsman, where he honed his skills. “His drawing style just develops at an amazing speed and he becomes one of the great draftsmen of European art within a year or two from rather tentative beginnings, and so that speed of development is something remarkable,” Bomford said.Video Playerhttps://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18134415/Van_Gogh_MFA.mp400:0000:0001:20Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.The exhibit then explores Van Gogh’s work in Paris when he briefly became an Impressionist, followed by a series of landscapes and portraits from his time in the South of France where he develops his unique style. It ends with his paintings from the final years of his life, while he was living in a psychiatric asylum in Saint-Remy and then in Auvers where he died.Among some of the works on display are his self-portraits and his iconic painting of irises. “All of this is happening within an extraordinarily short time, in just a few years he’s developing from almost a beginner to one of the greatest artists that the world has ever seen,” Bomford said. “You see that whole story in this exhibition.” A rare occurrenceThe last time a major Van Gogh exhibition was in Houston was 1951, when the de Menils arranged an exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum.“That was an amazing exhibition when you look at the checklist and see what they were able to obtain,” said Gary Tinterow, the director of the MFAH. “Of course he wasn’t such an important figure of the public imagination as he is now, nor were there as many exhibitions or museums putting on exhibitions, so the competition has become much greater these days than it was in 1951.”There are currently at least nine Van Gogh exhibits in the works around the world, according to The New York Times.Tinterow is also one of five members on the supervisory board at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which he said has given him insight into just how difficult it is to organize a Van Gogh exhibition.“When one embarks on a Van Gogh exhibition, one immediately finds out where one’s friends are and who they are,” he said. “It requires individuals, museums, private collectors to make an effort and to say yes to you as they say no to someone else.”Tinterow said talks for the current exhibition began about three years ago. The bulk of the paintings came from two museums in the Netherlands: the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum. But the curators also rounded it out with works from other collections.Another record-breaker?– / 2Given the rarity of the exhibit and excitement over the opportunity to see works by the iconic painter, it has the potential to be another attendance record-breaker for the museum. Nearly 2,000 people attended the public opening on March 10, according to Tinterow.The museum’s all-time attendance record was a six-month Ron Mueck exhibit, which saw 147,000 visitors.Crowds have continued to gather since the opening, with people visiting from around Texas and even out of state.“It’s just exciting that so many people can see his works that we haven’t been able to see before, and you don’t have to travel all around the country to see them. They’re just all in one spot,” said Pandora Blankenship, who traveled from Missouri with her daughter and granddaughter to see the exhibit. For many, it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.“Definitely in my lifetime there will never again be this many Van Goghs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,” said Tinterow. “And it’s a great opportunity for everyone to come and enjoy the work of an extraordinary human being.” Shareread more